This is why the NFL has surpassed baseball as the favorite American pastime. Everything they do,..they do it big. Like, real big. NFL draft was broadcast by, not one, but two networks. Last Wednesday the NFL released the week-by-week NFL schedule. Weeks before the NFL would leak important games and which two teams would battle in which went worldwide. All 32 NFL cities got to find out the who, what, where, and when their teams would battle opponents.
The Bengals got in on the fun too. Several schedule release functions were happening around town as it was revealed.
As it turns out, the Bengals will have the least traveled miles in all of the NFL. For Cincy, four of the first six games will be played on the road. This could be a good thing. Lets face it. Under Zac Taylor the Bengals have played better on the road then at home. The concentration level has been better along with the attention to detail. Cleveland, Minnesota, Denver, and Green Bay will be the sites. Denver will get a crucial rematch of the battle with Cincinnati in one of the most thrilling games of the season last year going the Bengals way in overtime.
While road games will dominate the early part of the season Cincy gets to use “the jungle” advantage for three of the last four games.
December and January have been known to be cold months in Cincinnati. Bengals will face Arizona, Baltimore and Cleveland at home in those months.
One big misconception is that just because a team underachieved in 2024 they’ll also do the same in 2025. Teams such as Arizona, Chicago and New York Jets had bad seasons in 2024. All made significant upgrades in 2025 and are expected to be formidable this season.
At the end of the day, if the Bengals can stay healthy and upgrade the defensive side of the ball the team should be in a good position to play deep into January. That’s a long way from now. Getting the pieces to the puzzle remains priority at this time.